Plastics made up an estimated 390,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the United...

  

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Plastics made up an estimated 390,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the United States in 1960. The quantity has increased relatively steadily to 31.8 million tons in 2011. As a percentage of MSW generation, plastics were less than 1% in 1960, but had grown to 12.7% of waste in 2011. 32 28 24 Plastics generation and recovery, 1960 to 2011 20 Generation J 16 12 8 Recovery 1965 1970 1960 Graph from U.S. E.P.A. 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2011 The overall amount of plastics recovered for recycling is relatively small. In 2011 it was 8.3% of all plastic waste. However, the recovery of some types of plastic containers is more significant. How many million tons of plastic waste were recovered for recycling in 2011? Plastics made up an estimated 390,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in the United States in 1960. The quantity has increased relatively steadily to 31.8 million tons in 2011. As a percentage of MSW generation, plastics were less than 1% in 1960, but had grown to 12.7% of waste in 2011. 32 28 24 Plastics generation and recovery, 1960 to 2011 20 Generation J 16 12 8 Recovery 1965 1970 1960 Graph from U.S. E.P.A. 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2011 The overall amount of plastics recovered for recycling is relatively small. In 2011 it was 8.3% of all plastic waste. However, the recovery of some types of plastic containers is more significant. How many million tons of plastic waste were recovered for recycling in 2011?